In the early hours of Christmas morning in 2016, a joyous celebration at a Mount Vernon, New York nightclub turned into a scene of tragedy. O'Neil Bandoo, the 36-year-old co-owner of the Mansion Night Club, was fatally shot in the lobby of his own establishment. The incident unfolded at approximately 4:26 a.m. when a patron who had been ejected from the club for being disruptive returned with a handgun and opened fire.
The gunman, later identified as Errol Hillary of the Bronx, had been
involved in an altercation inside the club, prompting security to remove him. In an act of retaliation, Hillary came back and began shooting. Bandoo, a husband and father of two, was struck in the chest as he stood in the club's lobby and was pronounced dead at the scene. The chaotic shooting also resulted in injuries to five other individuals.
Security personnel and police officers who were present at the scene were able to subdue Hillary and take him into custody. A handgun was recovered at the location. Following his arrest, Errol Hillary was charged with murder and multiple counts of attempted murder. It was also revealed that he was out on bail for a separate attempted murder charge in the Bronx at the time of the nightclub shooting.
In the aftermath of the tragic event, the community mourned the loss of Bandoo, who was remembered as a respected businessman and a devoted family man. In February 2017, a grand jury indicted Errol Hillary on charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. He was later convicted, and in April 2018, sentenced to 125 years to life in prison for the murder of O'Neil Bandoo and the wounding of the five other victims.
